


silver lining

by callieincali



Category: The Magicians (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Funeral, but it's only a little bad, read this if you think kady deserves better, trust me - Freeform, wickoff, you think it'll be bad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2017-05-20
Packaged: 2018-11-03 00:10:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10955625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/callieincali/pseuds/callieincali
Summary: julia attends a funeral





	silver lining

**Author's Note:**

> i have reemerged from the depths of writer's block and i come bearing angst. 
> 
> its not as bad as you think, i swear.

Wearing black was not foreign to Julia. It was a color that made frequent appearances throughout her outfits, but somehow, wearing black to a funeral felt like an occurrence that she should not have been experiencing.

The ceremony was set to start a few minutes before she walked out of her apartment door, ensuring she would arrive late to the cemetery. It was her intention to show up later than the rest of the guests with the hope that she could duck in undetected, masked behind the wave of black dresses and similar colored suits.

But as Julia entered the gates of the graveyard, the only crowd in sight was a group of empty, foldable chairs, lined in neat rows in front of a podium and a casket. A priest stood at the podium, with two men behind him, reading his eulogy to the only person in the crowd that was there to hear it— a slouched over, curly-haired brunette with an expression stuck somewhere between embarrassment and the verge of tears.

So much for trying to be discreet.

Julia abandoned her previous strategy with a hushed groan and continued forward, tucking her hands into the pockets of her coat. The curly-haired girl's green eyes didn't tear themselves from the wooden coffin until Julia was just inches away from the chair directly beside her. The jade green hardened into an intense glare when they landed on Julia's face, her mouth opening to speak just as Julia took her seat.

"Why the hell are you here?" Kady spat, every muscle in her body tensing when their eyes met.

Julia wanted to remain civil with the mourning girl, but something about the insensitive question sent sparks of anger down her arms.

"I was Hannah's friend, Kady." She stopped herself, turning her head to take in the sight of empty chairs around her. "And by the looks of it, her only one." Julia meant for it to hold some sting, but what came out sounded more sympathetic than she had intended. Kady shook her head, blowing out a short laugh.

"I sent out the details to twenty-two people. And not a single one showed up." Tears were beginning to prick at the corners of Kady's eyes, but she laughed it off, clenching her teeth in a way that highlighted the muscles in her jaw. Julia felt suddenly thankful her previous response hadn't sounded as crude as she would have liked.

The priest continued to speak over them, signaling that Julia should probably not attempt to further the conversation. She didn't know what was acceptable to say, anyway. Kady didn't protest Julia's choice to stay seated. The eulogy was short (or perhaps Julia had missed most of it). It sounded vague and impersonal, as if Kady had hired him to say the most standard of speeches. She was a good woman. She died too soon. She will be missed. So on, so forth. And once the man at the podium had finished his speech, he announced that it was time for the final goodbyes.

Kady sighed and stood up nonchalantly, obviously hiding a shade of hurt that was attempting to break through. She ambled towards the coffin, arms crossed, and Julia followed suit, deciding it felt too awkward to stay behind.

Kady didn't seem to mind Julia standing beside her, almost like she barely noticed her presence. The taller girl reached her hand into the coffin, resting her fingers on top of her mother's. Julia could see Kady's hand shaking— her composure cracking.

"I keep thinking she's gonna wake up. But she's really gone." Kady scoffed slightly, stroking her thumb along the top of Hannah's wrist. Julia could tell the undertones of humor were nothing more than a coping mechanism.

"Not a day goes by where I don't feel terrible about what happened to her." Julia explained monotonously, flashbacks of blood dripping from Hannah's nose clouding Julia's thoughts. Kady's eyes looked as if she were about to roll them, but stopped, instead softening them and turning their gaze to her feet.

"Did she suffer?" Her gaze was back at Julia, now, scanning her face for a reply that Julia didn't know how to give. There was no easy way to break the news to Kady that her mother had died a slow, painful death, but Julia's silence conveyed the answer. Kady's eyes began to well up again at the idea.

"She said she loved you." Julia tacked on, hoping Kady would be able to find some solace in the words.

"Yeah, I know she did." Kady's voice finally betrayed her, cracking under the emotions it was attempting to mask. She loosened the scarf around her neck, most likely to distract from her reddening eyes and sniffled, wiping her nose with the back of her hand.

Slowly, Kady tugged her hand out of the coffin and clenched it into a fist, squeezing her eyes shut before turning to the two nicely-dressed men, who stood behind the priest, and nodding. They nodded back— a silent conversation shared between the three— and walked over, working at the hinges on the coffin to close it up.

When the latches were secure, the men lifted the casket on the count of three, carrying it to the six-foot hole in the ground and lowering it inside.

Kady stood, frozen in place— Julia didn't think she even blinked once during the ordeal— as shovels of dirt pelted against the wood in the ground, slowly covering it until nothing was left to be seen besides a rectangle of overturned soil. And as the two men finished their job and headed back towards the parking lot, Julia saw the first tears begin to make their way down Kady's cheeks. The priest gave his condolences and a firm handshake, blessing them with a short prayer before he gathered his belongings and left, too.

At that point, Kady's chest was hiccuping in silent cries, a sight that made Julia's arms long to pull her into a hug, but she refrained, settling on bringing a hand to the top of the taller girl's back. Kady flinched at the touch, but ultimately relaxed under the sensation. They stood in the position for a few moments while Kady collected the emotions that had escaped from behind her facade.

"Listen, my apartment isn't too far from here. If you wanna crash there for the night--" Julia broke the silence, only to be cut off by the curly-haired girl as if she had been expecting Julia to speak.

"You coming to my mom's funeral doesn't put us on good terms. We're not friends, Julia." Kady pulled away from Julia's hand, turning so they were facing each other, rather than standing shoulder-to-shoulder. Julia could see the walls already beginning to build themselves back up where they had fallen moments before, and a tugging in her chest told her to say something before the chance was lost.

"I'm not saying we are. I'm saying that I know you don't want to be alone tonight." Julia felt like she was diffusing a bomb; like one wrong move could send the entire situation blowing up in her face. But by the looks of Kady's searching gaze, she was already considering the offer.

"And no one deserves to be alone after a funeral." She finished, widening her eyes in a way that practically begged Kady to accept.

And while Julia would claim that her offer was strictly in order to benefit Kady's wellbeing, a large part of her knew that having someone to share the apartment with sounded much more appealing than being left with her own, haunting memories.

Kady's eyes did roll, then, and she even crossed her arms, looking anywhere else than Julia's pleading eyes. With an exasperated sigh, Kady found her answer.

"Fine," Kady grumbled, allowing her arms to fall back to her sides with a loud sniffle. Julia couldn't prevent the content smirk from spreading across her lips. "I don't have money for a hotel, anyway." She added, probably hoping the reasoning would disguise her true feelings on the matter. Julia easily saw through the front, only making the grin grow wider.

Julia cast a quick illusion spell that rendered the funeral set-up invisible-- they would deal with clean-up in the morning. They walked together without speaking, back towards the parking lot where they both climbed inside Julia's car and drove away, leaving the cemetery to fade away from the view of their back window.

Kady never thanked Julia and Julia never expected her to— didn't even want the gratitude. Because, as long as Kady wouldn't be leaving the funeral alone, mourning the loss of one of the only people she had left in life, Julia could live without a 'thank you'.

**Author's Note:**

> if you've recognized some the dialogue in this, kudos to you. 
> 
> if not, just go along thinking i thought of these conversations 100% on my own because i am a genius. 
> 
> i'm holding a funeral for my happiness on twitter @bestbltches or on tumblr @magicianstextposts . you're all invited. bring me flowers. leave me wickoff art. or just cry with me about this hiatus. kthxbye


End file.
